Tuba Snobs?

[Locky]

I am with you Jonathantuba.

Not because I am a fellow Brit but because I see performance is important "in the round". So it matters not if the instrument is old, as might be the shoes, trousers etc - the real issue boils down to "is the performer and performance of good quality, honest and well presented" - or taken together does it appear slovenly?

Jonathan your very "English" posts always have a calming air - keep them going. Ever try the Miraphone 1261? Or get to Nottingham?

[Locky]

You are welcome to come as well Bloke.

[tofu]

In business I have always believed in under promising and over delivering. I think the same is true for instruments in a way.

With a rotten looking horn folks are amazed at how can you play that old looking thing so well. I also sense that for traditional jazz folks don't feel it is quite the real thing when the the instruments are all shiny and the tuba player has a nice new looking Miraphone 186.

Around here folks are sophisticated enough to have seen Preservation Hall or the Olympia Jazz Band and they expect good jazz to come from guys wearing worn clothing and playing old looking instruments. They don't expect it from the guys with the shiny horns and starched white shirts who play jazz from written music on the stands.

[iiipopes]

As Locky said, there is a difference between veteran, but well kept, and slovenly. Remember that patches on the elbows of tweed jackets were once simply a repair, not a fashion statement. What does that have to do with anything? About the same difference as one scratch is a scratch, but a whole bunch of them is patina.

It's probably not fair, and borders on stereotype, but one of the points of the "old horn" look is how the horn got that way. For example, if you see a tuba with worn bows, losing lacquer, and some significant, but apparently well done repairs, what comes across, for better or worse, is a little different, and usually looked upon with respect, than a tuba with a large crease in the bell, half-hammered dents and what we may call messy solder repairs, although both may have come by their character honestly, or through no fault of the performer.

No one thinks twice about an old Selmer sax with no lacquer and a couple of red spots on the bell flare. They think about how many gigs it must have been a part of that people enjoyed. But for some reason, tubists and other brass seem to be reprimanded for such. No, I'm not paranoid. I just observe. The reflections off the bells are so much more noticable. My souzy looks like corroded brown hell on the bugle, but the bell is a beautiful aged deep gold lacquer with the appropriate patina that is easy to keep clean with a slight wipe of a soft cloth, so no one notices the difference.

It does boil down to perception. Before the first note even sounds, does the person come across as a (whether professional or amateur) competent, attentive musician with his/her dress, manner, appearance and instrument in hand? Remember, only you can dissolve stereotypes.

Military and other gigs where regs of decorum override are not a part of this post, as they are a different situation and to be respected accordingly.

[Rick Denney]

However, what I am saying is that as musicians we are in the entertainment industry and although the music produced should always come first, appearance does matter to the paying audience.

No, I think I understood you, and this sentence confirms it for me. My point was that American audiences might actually be more impressed if the instruments are a bit tatty looking, because that provides evidence that they were selected on the musical merits and not just because they were new and shiny. We Americans are so accustomed to buying new and shiny stuff that we have taught ourselves not to trust it.

Rick "who thinks frequent enough polishing will eventually result in an Air Tuba" Denney

[Dean E]

However, what I am saying is that as musicians we are in the entertainment industry and although the music produced should always come first, appearance does matter to the paying audience.

No, I think I understood you, and this sentence confirms it for me. My point was that American audiences might actually be more impressed if the instruments are a bit tatty looking, because that provides evidence that they were selected on the musical merits and not just because they were new and shiny. We Americans are so accustomed to buying new and shiny stuff that we have taught ourselves not to trust it.

Rick "who thinks frequent enough polishing will eventually result in an Air Tuba" Denney

Everything old is new again.

Would there be a market for new, but pre-stressed tubas? Similar to buyers of acid-washed jeans and distressed furniture, musicians could show their hipness and taste, with a premium price.

[windshieldbug]

Would there be a market for new, but pre-stressed tubas?

We already have to play with violas!